I'll See You Again
by StarkCrazy007
Summary: An unexpected death..shocked Pepper down to the bone, and little Maria has such a bright outlook about it. No matter what, and no matter how much she misses her daddy, she always has a smile on her face when she visits him.


"Mommy-"

"Shh, Maria honey, no yelling here. People are sleeping" Pepper said quietly and held her hand in hers. This was the first time Pepper took her daughter to see her father in 2 years. She had just turned 5 when Tony passed so suddenly. And even now, Pepper still had her nights that she realized that she couldn't get over it. Today was the anniversary of his death. And like always she came and visited him, sometimes she came on her stressful days, just for someone to talk to who would listen. Holding her bouquet of flowers Pepper looked down at the spitting image of her husband walking next to her; a blue show ribbon and a rose in her hand, along with a horseshoe.

"Honey, why did you bring daddy a horse shoe?" Pepper asked with a soft, yet wavering smile.

"Because Aunt Holly told me that it will bring good luck" She beamed up at her mother. Her big blue eyes held so much of Tony it hurt. "I want daddy to have all the luck that I've had. It makes me so happy. I want him to be happy too" She nodded.

"That's so sweet of you, angel. I'm sure daddy is very happy you are thinking of him" Pepper said, her throat tight with tears. Approaching Tony's grave, she felt like her legs could fall right out from underneath her and she wouldn't walk any further. Even after 2 years the sight could kill her. It did, every day, not waking up to the man she loved, killed her.

"Hi daddy!" Maria pulled Pepper, who numbly walked behind her, over to where her father was laid to rest. "I'm so happy to see you again. I brought you something" She spoke and plopped herself right next to his headstone, setting her ribbon and shoe down next to her. "But first, I have this, I remember, you gave me a flower every time you came home. And I want you to have one every time I see you"

Pepper tried her absolute hardest to hold back any longer. But if she let go now with her daughter..she could never let herself do that. She had to-she Promised to be strong for her.

"Daddy! Look" She beamed and pulled out her first place ribbon. "I won first place, All by myself" She smiled and held it in her hands. "On the horse you bought for me. He's so good. I'm keeping him forever." She nodded and placed the ribbon on his headstone. "I want you to keep it. Mommy told me I'll have plenty more, so I want you to keep my first one...And here is something from him as well, One of RT's horse shoes. He wore this one when I won that ribbon. I want him to share the luck too with you, Daddy"

Pepper felt like she was going to explode into tears. The first time she visited him...she had to be pried away from his headstone, and if she wasn't so weak then, she would have ripped that stone out of the ground before they could take her away. They being Happy, Rhodey and even her sister. Three people. It took two full grown men and her sister to pry her from her husband's stone. She could never accept the fact that she was gone, at least not internally. Her heart died with him.

"Mommy told me we'll plant your favorite flowers next spring. I know you would like that." Maria smiled, "And I'm going to buy my own barn someday daddy. A huge one. And Call it Tony And Virginia and Maria's ranch. So we all can be a part of it. And I want it on the highest hill. so you can reach me and my horses"

Pepper blinked and the tears fell. Steadily running down her cheeks like overflowing gutters. "Maria..honey. Go back to the car with Aunt Holly." She choked out, and waited for her to say her goodbye and give her father's headstone a kiss. "I love you daddy. Come see me"

Pepper turned her head and hid her tears as she heard her footsteps fade. And once she couldnt stand anymore, her knees fell to the ground. And her hand came up over her mouth as she sobbed. Her tears dripping down heavily on the flowers. "I know you told-m-me not to cry" She stammered sobbing. "If you were ever gone." She added on a hard sob as the words spilled out of her mouth. Reaching out to the ground above where his heart would be. "This dirt is still so loose.." she murmured through her tears. It feels like he's been gone forever, but it was just two years. That flew by.

"God..Tony why...Why did you do that?" She hissed tearfully. "I told you not to go.." She cried out, dropping the flowers and laying her face in her hands. "I miss you so much!" She sobbed and fell onto her side, wishing she could look at him, feel him, and kiss him like she used to. She laid there for a while, crying it all out and telling him over and over how much she missed him.

"I love you Tony. I always will. I-I dont know if..if I want to give Maria another father..I cant bare to get rid of the ring. it's the only thing I have left of you. The suits and..and the house that...that's not who you were. But don't worry..Rhodey and Happy are always around..helping me with her, that's the closest another man will get to me. I dont want anyone else" She swallowed hard and played with the grass between them. "I slept here one night you know...I dont know if you noticed, maybe you did" She half smiled. "You were never a man for detail..but I just couldn't sleep without you. I still cant...She's so much like you, Tony." she rose herself up on her elbow and played with the tufts of grass, like it was his hair. "so much, sometimes it hurts. She's taken things apart, put them back together. Hell. She fixed the fridge. What seven year old knows a damn thing about refrigerators?" She chuckled tearfully. "She loves computers too, Jarvis is teaching her. She'll be just like her daddy. I know it. She's so smart. Getting straight A's.. You did such an amazing job as a dad, Tony Stark."

Picking up the flowers she reached over and set them down against the headstone. "I wished these lasted longer. But that's why we're planting your favorite roses. So you can have em forever. But dont worry, I'll still come back and visit. That won't ever change" She smiled and got to her knees again, shuffling over to his headstone, placing a longer, tender kiss to his name, and the picture of him embedded into the stone. "Watch over our baby girl. We haven't fallen off yet. And I know you're there to keep her on." She smiled. "Sleep easy baby. I love you forever"


End file.
